Shogun is easily Trivium's most challenging and ambitious album yet, and even though it isn't likely to spawn any hit singles, it was clearly the album Trivium had to make in order to get unduly prejudiced metalheads off their backs and finally silence undue suspicions over their abundant talent and devotion to heavy metal.

Shogun is by no means an outstanding metal album, but it should be enough to satisfy both fans of their older material and those attracted to the meatier hooks of ‘Anthem (We Are The Fire)’ and ‘Entrance Of The Conflagration.’

Don't listen to metacritic. They do a poor job of collecting all the reviews (they also sometimes get the scores wrong on some reviews). ThisDon't listen to metacritic. They do a poor job of collecting all the reviews (they also sometimes get the scores wrong on some reviews). This album is Trivium's strongest effort to date combining all past elements from their previous albums. It should be on the shelves of anyone who enjoys music in general.…Collapse

The structure of their music, the epic riffs, the incredibly skilfull solos, the malicious screams, the aggressive rough vocals, the amazing The structure of their music, the epic riffs, the incredibly skilfull solos, the malicious screams, the aggressive rough vocals, the amazing clean vocals and the heavy hitting drums and bass truly make this a masterpiece album. Trivium's work is on the same level as work by At the Gates, Death, Dissection and Opeth. Can't get any better than that.…Expand

Wow. The only I reason I didn't score this album a 10 is because I just can't see everybody out there really understanding the music. ThisWow. The only I reason I didn't score this album a 10 is because I just can't see everybody out there really understanding the music. This album had one solid musical theme: To push Trivium way past what everyone was expecting. I would possibly put this album in a "Best of Decade..." list.…Expand

It's funny. If tracks 7 and 8 "The Calamity" & "He Who Spawned the Furies" were cut from this album, I'd have given it a 10 instead of a 9.It's funny. If tracks 7 and 8 "The Calamity" & "He Who Spawned the Furies" were cut from this album, I'd have given it a 10 instead of a 9. That's how good the rest of the songs are. Epic riff after epic riff and impeccable solo after impeccable solo. The bass and drums sound great and are sufficiently high up in the mix. This album is fantastic and the songs really speak for themselves. No embellishment here. No choirs, pianos, harps, samples, ballads, or anything to weigh it down. Apart from the two weak songs (which still would beat the hell out of half the metal bands today), this is about as good as metal gets.

Standouts are Kirisute Gomen, Throes of Perdition, and perhaps the most amazing 9+ minute track I've heard since "To Live is To Die", Shogun.…Expand

Shogun is a beautiful blend of progressive & heavy metal that keeps things interesting from start to finish. It seems the band has finallyShogun is a beautiful blend of progressive & heavy metal that keeps things interesting from start to finish. It seems the band has finally crafted a strong project that has plenty of highlights that make the entire album worth whatever you payed for it. "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis" is so epic that I'd worry the entire album from then on wouldn't live up to the excellence set on track 2. But it does. "Down From The Sky" and "Throes of Perdition" keep the ball rolling through the mid-section before hitting perhaps the album's heaviest moments on "He Who Spawned The Furies" (appropriately named). Toward the end, the title track "Shogun" is a near twelve minute steamroller of groovin' metal-mania that does a splendid job bouncing between big moments and low, dynamic breaks to prevent the track from ever growing tiresome. Easily worth a purchase in my book.…Expand